Laura Harper Lake

Laura Harper Lake (b. 1985) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Exeter, New Hampshire who has been creatively driven her whole life. Harper Lake graduated from Chester College of New England in 2007 and works as an artist under the moniker Artful Harper Studios. She works in many media, including oil paint, watercolor, printmaking, and digital art, however she has recently focused on mixed media, opening herself to more play and experimentation to convey her conceptual work.

Laura is also the co-host of Creative Guts, an interview-style podcast explores the roots of creativity, dives into the hearts of creators, and discovers how creativity connects with the world around us. Listen to an interview with Laura here.

“The Vivid and Vulnerable Vessels series began as an exercise to merge abstract and representational forms on my canvas, without the constraints of striving for perfection. I wanted to relax my grip and to allow mistakes to live through the work historically. Little did I know it would grow into a deeper practice of allowing my own self to be accepting as I am, and to let go of the physical paragon our culture deems worthy of love. The human form can receive varying reactions when a person views themselves with a self-assessing mind. At times we may be confident, much like the bold, vivid colors on my wood canvases. In other moments we feel like the thin layer of iridescent paint I use exposing the natural grain beneath; vulnerable and hesitant. I am a pendulum, swinging between these two radically different states of being. However, I aim to see myself as just a human and hold no importance over how I appear; for my body is a vessel for all that I think, do, and create.”